The
Yestermorrow
Design/Build School located in Warren, Vermont, is a dynamic
learning community exploring and teaching the integrated creative process
of designing and building a sustainable future.

The School was founded
in 1980 on the belief that the best built environment depends on the
joint cooperation of designers, builders and homeowners. Our goal is
to empower people to unleash their creative spirit by researching, preserving
and teaching the integrated design/build process. The name Yestermorrow
is a synthesis of yesterdays
dedication to craft and beauty in the making of a built environment
with tomorrows vanguard technologies, materials and lessons learned
about the environmental impacts of our actions on the present and future.
This synthesis is achieved through Yestermorrows design/build
approach to architecture and through the connection between hand and
mind that unfolds in the design/build process. By teaching students
to express their values and lifestyle through this process, we foster
a self-awareness that reconnects people to their communities, their
natural environment and to each other. We help create healthy, sustainable
communities by helping people to take steps to make their own
place.

About
Pomier Caves Anthropological Reserve

Located
about an hour's drive west of Santo Domingo on the outskirts of San
Cristobal, the Pomier Caves Anthropological Reserve is the only region
in the country specifically designated for the protection of a subterranean
ecosystem and it is the single most important pre-Columbian site in
the Caribbean. With more 6000 recorded pictographs and around 500 petroglyphs
pertaining to several distinct indigenous populations, the Pomier Caves
are, in anthropological importance, for the Caribbean what the Pyramids
of Giza are for Egypt and the Altamira and Lascaux Caves are for Europe.
Cave
Number One has 590 pictographs; more than are found in all other locations
in the Minor Antilles put together. Not only an anthropological wonder,
eight new fauna species were reported, all in horizontal caves, in
1995 as the ecological
diversity in the Reserve was being surveyed. More species
are believed to inhabit the less accessible caverns.

The Pomier Caves
have become a research site and have been visited and studied by distinguished
scholars who have witnessed their scientific value and the precious
heritage they hold. The most recent and informed research has been conducted
by Espeleogrupo de Santo Domingo with the scientific support and collaboration
of an array of foreign specialists. The caves are of such importance
that UNESCO has called for their application for World Heritage Status.
Despite the Caves' declaration as a National Monument and general public
support, they have faced constant aggression and destruction, mainly
due to the chaotic institutional situation that has historically
plagued Dominican society. Nearby mining activities have destroyed several
caves and countless rupestrian art and bat populations within.In association with
legislation and National Parks the local Florinda Soriano Club
has succeeded in preventing further damage through the occupation of
caves in particularly precarious locations.

The Prehistoric
Capitol of the AntillesProject is a project put forth by
Espeleogrupo de Santo Domingo and number of individuals from a variety
of backgrounds to create a sustainable educational and tourist destination
that protects the anthropological treasures of the Pomier Caves Anthropological
Reserve and the subterranean aqueduct supplying San Cristobal with water
and bring jobs and a future to the poor of Pomier. Yestermorrow's Class
in the Dominican Republic will be working towards these ends through
the design and construction of an entrance pavilion on the Anthropological
Reserve.

Class
Summary

This intensive 17
day class will lead architecture students through a dynamic, collaborative
design/build process for an innovative community project in a unique
tropical environment. Students will move through various stages of group
design work, culminating, in a single design appropriate to the use
and the site. Utilizing local materials that are environmentally appropriate,
the group will then embark on a rigorous building sprint to construct
what has been designed, while maintaining flexibility as the design
and building processes continually inform one another. The project focus
will be an entrance pavilion to the Pomier Caves Anthropological Reserve
in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic. Tuition includes travel within
the Dominican Republic, rustic camping facilities in wall tents, and
all meals.

Dates

January 3 (Wednesday)
through January 20 (Saturday), 2007

Instructors

Kyle
BergmanM.Arch. VA Polytechnic
Inst.
Kyle is an architect relentlessly eager to be out of the office. He
has designed and built houses with his own firm, Bergman
Design Team, and collaborated on diverse projects, both in
the States and abroad. He created and moderated an architectural lecture
series about the process of design/build for the Smithsonian Institute,
and has contributed to the design and execution of architecture exhibits
at the Russian National Architecture Museum in Moscow and the New Oceanside
Museum of Art in Oceanside, CA. Frustrated with the lack of resource
material for quality new products, Kyle founded a publishing company
that created Alt Spec - a visual resource for architects and developers.

Alexander "Sandy"
Lawton M.Arch, U of Virginia
Sandy is the owner of ArroDesign, a local design/build firm established
in 1985. Trained as an architect with 15 years of practical construction
experience, Sandy can be described as a master builder, taking a project
from the design stage and seeing it all the way through the entire construction
process. He enjoys exploring the many realms of his business, including
concrete, metal, timberframing and new technology.

Presentation on
Pomier Caves Anthropological Reserve and Pomier Community with Domingo
Abreu.

Historical Walking
Tour of Colonial Zone

Lunch.

Transfer to Pomier,
San Cristobal.

Tour of Camp and
Facilities.

Tour of Cave No.
1.

Tour of Other Caves.

Tour of Pomier
Community.

Dinner
at Camp.

Tent Camping accommodations.

January 5, Friday
through January 8, Monday

Breakfast, Lunch,
and Dinner in Camp.

Design.

Awareness Tour
for Available Materials and Tools.

Tent
Camping accommodations.

January 9, Tuesday
through January 18, Thursday

Breakfast,
Lunch, Dinner in Camp.

Build.

Tent Camping accommodations.

January 19, Friday

Breakfast
and Lunch in Camp.

Celebration and
Presentation of Project.

Transfer to Colonial
Zone, Santo Domingo

Farewell Dinner.

Hotel accommodations
in Colonial Zone.

January
20, Saturday

Breakfast in Hotel.

Airport Transfer
to Santo Domingo Las Americas Airport (SDQ)

Accommodations

Hotel
Mercure Comercial,
Santo DomingoNights 1 and 19
Located in the heart of the historic and picturesque Colonial Zone, the
Mercure Comercial is only two blocks from the famed "First Cathedral"
and surrounded by cafes, shops, ancient ruins, and modern convenience.
This building was completely refurbished in 2000 and is the best starting
point for a visit of all historical monuments of the old town center.
30 km from the airport. Rooms are clean and comfortable with a/c, cable
television, telephone, room safe, and private bathrooms. A full service
bar and restaurant on located off the lobby on the Conde pedestrian walkway.

Pomier
Anthropological Reserve (camping)Pomier-Borbon, San CristobalNights 2 through through 18Primitive camping
adjacent to the National Park office in 8, 6 and 4-person tents.

Watch out for rebar, it hurts. Concrete is way heavier than you think.

When in doubt, ask Richard.

Don’t bring too many clothes. Were not told ahead of time, but there are ways to have laundry cleaned. Also bring a comfortable sleeping pad. It rains nearly everyday so prepare for that with appropriate footwear. And you should learn / refresh Spanish speaking ability; it will be more fun for you.

Trust Richard when he says, “This is not a needle, I am not going to prick you”.

Personal Reflection and/or Testimonial:

A great tour guide! Amazing people. Very Friendly and willing to help out in whatever they can. Great cooks! The food was amazing!

4T Team was incredible. If one day I have to camp again, I hope that it will be with 4T.
This was one of the most surprising and educational trips I have taken. The size of the group was perfect and the leaders where so responsive to our needs.

I thought it was a wonderful mix of Dominican Flavor with pretty good U.S. efficiency.

4T staff really makes everyone feel like “family”.

The food was awesome, and better than I could have ever expected. The overall accommodations and experience has been wonderful.

If I ever come back to the Dominican Republic and want to know where to go or what to do, I will definitely look 4T up.

4T, and especially Richard and Anthony, were always there to give us any support we needed to get the job done. More than that, though, they were fun and befriended each one of us. I’ll go out of my way to schedule trips in the future with 4T for my vacation.